Time Will Tell
by TheChicaChic
Summary: [BoscoFaith] Will they be able to over come whatever life throughs at them. It's going to be a battle from the beginning
1. How do we deal with today?

_Disclaimer: None of the characters in the story that you recognize from Third Watch belong to me.  I only get to borrow them, and I have to give back my toys when I'm done playing.  __L___

_Authors Note: Though this isn't my first fanfic, it is my first Third Watch fanfic, so please don't be to hard in the flaming.  In my happy little world, Fred died the night he had the heart attack.  I know, I'm cruel, but well, I never really liked him.  I also missed the bank robbery episode due to a power outage, so at this point, I can't use that as a reference.  Okay, I also meant to take my time with this, but, everything inside my mind is actually pouring out right now, so I'm getting it down.  If it seems way to rushed, please let me know so I can fix it._

All in all things hadn't been busy at the precinct the past few days; whether it be regular duty or with anti-crime, so there wasn't much to do.  Bosco looked out into the hall and watched as Faith walked past, her dirty blond hair pulled up tightly on the back of her head.  Her eyes met his as she threw a quick glance his way before pushing the perp in front of her down the hall.  Sighing, he leaned back in the chair, careful not to tilt it to far back.  Slowly, he ran a hand down the front of his face, his fingers curling on the stubble of his chin as he tried to find a way to make things less tense between them.  She wasn't talking to him; save for a few forced words whenever he tried to speak with her, and that was making him wonder if maybe things were going to stay that way.  Tossing the pencil he had been moving in between his fingers on the desk, he stood, pulling up his jeans as they slid down.  Adjusting the black leather coat he wore over his vest, he walked out into the hall and in the direction that Faith had just gone.  He found her in one of the offices bent over a desk, a wisp of blond hair falling into her eyes.  It took a lot to not reach out and move it.  Stopping at the desk they had shared in the past, he looked down at her.

"You're blocking my light." She snapped, not looking up.

"Can we talk Faith?"

"Move it Boscorelli."

He starred down at her, not moving from where he stood by the desk.  "We need to talk Yokas."

She turned and glared up at him; her fingers holding the pen tight enough to snap it.  "I said move it _Maurice."_

Frowning, he turned around and grabbed the chair sitting next to the desk, spinning it around so he could straddle it.  Moving his face so it was between hers and the papers on the desk, he glared back, his blue eyes searching hers.  "I'm not leaving until we talk Faith."

Faith looked down into the blue eyes that were only inches from her's and fumed.  He had no right pushing his way between her and her work; after all, they weren't partners anymore.  Leaning back, she turned her head, putting her hand down on the desk to push off it.

Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her to him, feeling the slight heat from their nearness.  "We need to talk Faith, I'm not going to let you keep pushing me away."

"Why Boscorelli" she asked, glaring sideways at him before leaning down so that her mouth was next to his ear, "so you can lie to my face again and think you're getting away with it?"

He looked up at her, surprise completely etched on his face.  He hadn't thought that she knew he had lied to her that afternoon in the lobby, thought he had covered it completely.  "Faith?"  He shuddered, worried now.  She hadn't called him Boscorelli in years, not unless she was utterly pissed off at him.

Sitting back down in the chair, she looked down at the report she had been filling out before he had come into the room, ignoring the fact that he was still holding her wrist.

"Faith?"  He asked again, watching her.

"Go away Bosco."

He looked at her for another minute before standing.  Looking down at the hand he had around her wrist, he slid it down until he was gripping her hand.  Pulling it hard enough to make her stand, but not hard enough to hurt her, he basically dragged her through the corridors, heading towards the doors that led outside.  Not stopping until they were standing next to his car, he turned her around, pushing her against it, letting his arms block her in on both sides.  He didn't care what it looked like right now, they had to talk and this was the only way he knew of keeping her from running away from him.  "Alright Faith, talk to me.  Say whatever the hell you want to me.  No one's going to hear you out here."

"I have nothing to say to you Boscorelli."

"You know damn well you have something to say to me Faith, and stop calling me Boscorelli."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned back against the car watching him.  They hadn't talked in awhile, and she wasn't sure if things were ever going to be the same between them.  It had all started that night when Fred passed away – she had told Bosco he was useless.  Oh she hadn't meant it, but after she had realized what she had said, she didn't know how to take it back.  "Fine Maurice, you want to know what I have to say, I'll tell you.  I'm pissed off that you can't even trust me enough to tell me the truth.  You know for a fact that I wouldn't say anything to anyone else, I just wanted to know the truth – from you.  But I'm guessing that's too much to ask."

He winced at the use of his first name, no one but his mother ever used it, and at this point, he knew that Faith was just using it to try and piss him off.  Instead, he just looked into her eyes, a sad kind of look on his face.  "So you knew?"

"Of course I knew.  I wasn't your partner and best friend for seven years without getting to know you.  I can tell when you're lying, even when you look me in the eye."

"So we're not best friends anymore?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he looked down.

She looked at him, feeling even guiltier now that she had said that to him.  Sighing she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned forward, pressing her cheek against his.  "We'll always be best friends, even if we don't see eye to eye."

He smiled to himself as he wrapped both his arms around her waist and held onto her.  It always worked to play her softer side that he knew was buried below the surface.  I mean look at how it worked to not only get her to talk to him, but to get her into his arms where he could enjoy the feeling.  "I'm sorry Faith, but…"

"Boscorelli, let's go."

He frowned, looking over at Cruz.  Just when he was finally getting Faith to talk, she had to show up.  Didn't the women have a sense of timing, or at least enough manners to wait a minute?  Looking back at Faith, his arms still wrapped around her waist, he sighed.  "Faith, we really need to talk.  Can we go out after work, get a drink and talk?"

Shaking her head no, she squeezed him a bit tighter.  "I can't Boz, the kids baby sitter needs to leave on time tonight.  She's got a test tomorrow morning."

"Oh, forget I asked then."

"Why don't you come over.  The kids miss their Uncle Bosco, and I could use some adult conversation for a change."  Looking at him, she smirked a bit.  "Well, at least as close to adult conversation as I can get."

"Hey, I resent the implication that I am not an adult."

"Would you move your ass Boscorelli.  Give her a kiss or whatever you usually do and get over here."

"I think your _master is calling Boz."_

"She's not my master, she only wishes she was." He said, holding back the little bit that he wanted to add.

"We'll talk later, okay?" Faith asked, letting go of his waist.

"Yeah, meet you back here at 11." He said, kissing her cheek quickly before letting of her and stalking over to Cruz.

Faith watched him walk away, her hand sliding over the spot on her cheek he had just kissed.  That was something he had never done before, and yet, somehow she had wished he had actually kissed her lips instead.  She was just pushing off his car, careful not to scratch the paint,  when the doors to the precinct flew open and other officers started flying out.  Radio's were cracking to life and she listened to the call go out.

_"School shooting at PS 11.__  All available units to proceed there on a forth wit."_

The color drained from her face as she turned, spotting Sully and Davis getting in their car.  She started running towards the car, her hands shaking a bit.  That was Charlie's school, there was shots fired at her baby's school.  Diving in the back seat, she looked up at Sully who was starring at her.

"It's Charlie's school." Was all she said as she put her seatbelt on.

Sully just nodded, putting the car in reverse, backing out of the spot.  Turning in the direction that the other cars were going, Sully went as fast as he could.

_He was always such a nice boy.  The quiet one with good intentions.  He was down with his brother, respectful to his mother.  A good boy, but good don't get attention.  One kid with the promise.  The brightest kid in school, he's not a fool.  __Reading__ books 'bout science and smart stuff.  It's not enough, no 'Cause smart don't make you cool.  Well he's not invisible anymore.  With his father's nine and a broken fuse.  Since he walked through that classroom door, he's all over prime time news._

Bosco stood on the sidewalk, his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he looked at Cruz.  She was reaming him out good for ignoring her.  But he really wasn't listening, his thoughts instead to what he had just done to Faith.  It hadn't been in his plan to kiss her cheek, but it was better than kissing her on the mouth, and he just wanted some kind of contact with her.  Her skin smelled of Vanilla, something he had always wondered, but never dwindled upon.  Not that he would ever admit that out loud, for all anyone knew, Bosco thought of Faith as an ex-partner.  A small smile slipped onto his face as he thought about later that night, at least he was getting to spend some time.  It had been five months since Fred had died and over that time, he had wondered how long was long enough to wait to ask Faith out.

"Are you listening to me Boscorelli?"

He turned his attention back to the women standing in front of him and frowned.  "Yeah, I heard ya.  Don't ever make you wait again."

"Very good Boscorelli.  'Nother thing, if I ever catch you making out with your ex-partner on duty again, I'll have both of you written up."

"What you saw Cruz, was two friends talking about something that needed to be talked about."

"What I saw Boscorelli was an officer in the arms of another in front of the precinct they both work for, and one officer kissing the other."

"I kissed her on the cheek Cruz, the cheek.  God, her husband died less than six months ago, and she is my best friend.  She was upset, we were talking about that.  You got a problem with that?"

"Whatever.  We'll talk about this later.  Get in the car."

_Mary's got the same size hands as Marilyn Monroe.  She put her fingers in the imprints at Mann's Chinese Theatre Show.  She could've been a movie star.  Never got the chance to go that far.  Her life was stole oh oh, now we'll never know.  They're crying to the camera.  Said he never fitted.  He wasn't welcome, he's show up to the parties we was hangin in.  Some guys were putting him down, bullin' him 'round._

Sully stopped the car in front of the school with the rest of the cars, his attention focused on Faith at the moment.  She was holding it together pretty well, but if you looked close, you could see it was wearing at her.  Looking about at the mad chaos, he watched students and teachers run from the building, screaming as if that would help stop what was going on.  Up near the steps to the front of the school, he could see bodies lying at all angles, blood pouring onto the cement.

Faith jumped out of the car, running as fast as she could towards the school, pushing people out of the way to get closer.  "Charlie!" she screamed, looking around for her son.  It was the only sign that she was becoming agitated.

Sully moved closer to her, as did Davis, both looking around for the boy she was looking for.  Neither saw him in the crowds that were forming.

Faith moved closer to the building, looking around for anyone she knew from Charlie's class.  Seeing the principal from the school, she ran over, grabbing him by the arm and forcing him to turn around.  "Where's Charlie?"

"Officer Yokas…" he stopped, looking anywhere but at her.

"Where the hell is my son?"  She screamed, shaking the man.

"His class…it was the one where the shooter…"

Faith didn't stop to listen as she went running into the school.

"Faith!"  Sully yelled out, following her into the building.  Davis followed close behind, both their guns drawn as they made their way through the halls, looking about for anyone who might come out shooting at them.

Faith stopped outside the door to her son's classroom, pushing it open, gun drawn as she looked in.  Bodies were all over, some were crying, some were screaming.  "Oh God." Was all she could get out as she saw her son on the floor by his desk, his eyes closed, blood on the floor all around him.  "Charlie!"  She cried out, running over to him, dropping to the ground by him, her fingers trying to find a pulse.  Finding a weak one, she gathered him in her arms, crying as his limp body fell against her's.

"Sully stood in the doorway, surveying the situation around them.  Seeing Faith on the floor, cradling her son on the floor, he almost died.  "Faith?"

Standing, she held her son against her, running for the door.  "Get a bus Sully, he needs help."

Sully nodded, grabbing his radio to call it in as he followed her out, Davis trying to take the boy from her to run faster.  Faith shook him off, holding her baby to her as she ran down the hall, flying from the doors to the school and into Doc and Carlos who were waiting.

"Faith, let me have him."

Faith handed her son to Doc, watching as he started working on him.  Gauze was applied to the bleeding wound on his left chest, IVs were dropped and he was strapped down to a gurney.  Loading him into the back of the ambulance, he looked at Davis.

"Davis, we need you to drive, Sully, bring Faith behind."

She tried to move into the ambulance with her son, needing to be near him, holding his hand; doing whatever she could do to help.

"Faith, let Sully bring you in.  We need the room to work."

She nodded, crying as Sully led her back to 55-Charlie.

Placing her in the car, he ran around to the driver side, already on the radio.  "55-Charlie to central.  We need officer Boscorelli to meet us at Mercy now – and someone get Emily Yokas from school."

Glancing at the women crying in the passenger seat next to him, her sons blood covering her as she starred out the window, he floored it.

_Now I wish I would have talked to him.  Gave him the time of day, not turn away.  If I would've then it wouldn't maybe go this far.  He'd might'a stayed at home playing angry chords on his guitar.  He's not invisible anymore with his baggy pants and his legs in chains.  Since he walked through that classroom door, everybody knows his name.  Greg was always getting net from twenty feet away.  He had a tryout with the sixahs couldn't wait for Saturday.  Now we're never gonna see him slam, flyin' as high as __Kobe__ can/  His life was stole Oh!  Oh!  Now we'll never know…_

Bosco climbed in the car, his face showing nothing as Cruz climbed in the other side and started the car.  "You know, it's none of your business, what Faith and I have and all."

"It is when it affects your job."

"Affects my job?  How the hell is it affecting my job?"

"I was looking for you, you weren't where you were suppose to."

"Yeah?  It's not like we were off hiding in a broom closet or anything, we were standing in front of the freakin precinct with other cops mulling about."

_"55-Charlie to central.__  We need officer Boscorelli to meet us at Mercy now – and someone get Emily Yokas from school."_

The words didn't register at first in Bosco's mind as he sat there glaring at Cruz.  _'Boscorelli to meet us at Mercy now – and someone get Emily Yokas from school.'  The words finally penetrated that thick layer people said surrounded his brain.  __'Boscorelli – Mercy – Emily.__  Oh God, something's happened to Faith._

"Go" he ordered Cruz, not caring at the moment that she was his superior officer or not.

Cruz looked at him, a frown on her face as she turned the car the car around and headed towards Mercy.  "Just a partner."

They arrived at the same time the bus did, 55-Charlie pulling in right behind them.  Bosco was out of the car as it stopped, looking watching as the doors to 55-Charlie flew open.  Looking back at the bus, he watched as the back doors flew open, and the doctor's helped to lower the stretcher.  He listened to Doc give the run down, cold fear running through his body as he realized it wasn't Faith, it was Charlie.

"Eleven year old male, two gun shot wounds to the left chest, only one exit wound through the left shoulder.  One gun shot wound, right thigh, no exit wound.  Pulse is thready, BP's dropping, and we dropped two lines in the field, both open wide."

Bosco turned away as they started to rush him into the emergency, and looked at Faith.  He saw the raw emotions on her face, saw the drying blood all over her uniform, her hands, face and neck, and felt the anger building up.  He met Faith half way to the doors, grabbing her around the waist with an arm.  "Faith."

She looked at him, a blank look on her face.  "Boz?"

Leading her into the hospital, he looked back at Sully.

"School shooting.  It looked like his classroom took the brunt force of it."

Bosco nodded, curbing the desire to go out and pound the son of a bitch who had done this.  Right now, he needed to take care of Faith, and Emily when she got there.  Stopping at the doors that led into the trauma room, he kept his arm around Faith's waist, watching as they worked on Charlie.  He felt Faith tremble, and heard her bite back a sob.  Turning her towards him, he pulled her against him, her face buried in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.  "It's gonna be okay Faith, I promise its gonna be okay." He mumbled into her hair, his hand gently stroking it as he felt her tears run down his neck.

"There was so much blood Boz.  So much blood."

She seemed to realize that she herself was covered in her sons blood and pulled back, looking down at herself.  "Oh God." She cried, turning her hands over and over.  "OH GOD!"

Taking her hands in his, he dragged her over to the nurses station, grabbing at the wipes that the nurses used.  Taking a handful, he started scrubbing at her hands, wiping away at the blood that covered them.  Getting one clean, he moved onto the other, than her neck and face.  As he wiped away the blood on her face, he looked in her eyes, noticing again the blank and distant look there.  "He's gonna be fine Faith, Charlie's a fighter like his mom is, and he's got Fred watching out for him."  Dropping the wipes into the waist bin next to the counter, he started working the buttons of her uniform shirt.  Pulling it out of the belt around her waist, he pushed it off her shoulders and dropped it into a chart bin.  Undoing the Velcro of her vest, he ran his hands over her sides and stomach, making sure that all the blood had been Charlie's.  Somewhat glad to see that it had only been Charlie's, he shrugged off the black coat he wore and helped her put it on.  Picking up the shirt and vest he had dropped, he walked her back to the chairs, dropping the shirt and vest onto one as he looked into the room where they were still working on Charlie.

"MOM!  BOSCO!"

Turning around, he saw Emily running over to them, the same look of worry on her face that he saw on Faith's.  Putting a hand on Faith's shoulder, he pulled Emily into a hug.  Watching as she leaned back, he saw Sully and Davis step up to stand behind her.  "Em, it's Charlie…there was a school shooting and…"

"No." she cried out, walking to the glass and putting her hands up against it.

They stood like that for a few minutes, waiting for a doctor to come out.  Soon, the doors parted and they started to push the stretcher towards the elevator, a doctor stepping over to talk to them.

"Officer Yokas, I need you to sign some papers of consent."

"Where are you taking my son, what's wrong with him."

"Charlie was hit three times, and of those three times, only one bullet left his body.  He's also lost a lot of blood, and we're doing our best to stop it, but I'm afraid there is massive internal bleeding.  We need to operate now, remove the bullets and try to stop the internal bleeding."

"But he's gonna be fine, right Doc?"

"It's to soon to say at the moment, I'm sorry."

"Oh God no." Faith cried out, dropping to her knees on the floor.  Bosco dropped down with her, pulling her against him as he felt her body shake with sobs.  Rocking her back and forth in his arms, he mumbled over and over that it was going to be okay.

"Officer Yokas, we need you to sign those papers."

Bosco looked up at the doctor, a frown on his face.  "Get me the papers, I'll sign them."

The doctor nodded, heading off to get the papers as Bosco held Faith in his arms, rocking back and forth with her as she continued to sob.

_The lyrics used in the story are from the song "Stole" by Kelly Rowland._


	2. A Visit from the Past

_Title: Time Will Tell (2/?)_

_Author: TheChicaChic, MabMerlin or Jenn, depending on where you're reading this._

It had been almost two hours since they had taken Charlie into surgery, and there still hadn't been any word back yet.  Bosco had sat on the floor holding Faith for what seemed like hours, but in reality, it had only been five minutes.  The doctor had come back with the consent forms and Bosco had scrawled his name across them, just barely glancing at them.  As the doctor had rushed off to file them, and to deal with another ambulance coming in, Bosco had pulled Faith up off the floor, supporting most of her weight as he glanced around.  There seemed to have been an influx of patients brought in, and Bosco realized that most of them were from the school shooting.  That had been two hours ago.  Now he sat in the surgical waiting room next to Faith, her hand in his.  Looking over, he saw her still starring straight ahead, and wished there was some way that he could take all the pain away from her, and from Emily who was at the moment down in the cafeteria getting something to eat.  He was glad that Ty and Sully had stuck around, otherwise, he didn't know how he would have dealt with both Emily and Faith.  Oh he would have found a way, but having the extra people around meant he could keep an eye on Faith.

"Faith?"

Turning, she looked at him, noticing the worried look on his face.  She wished she could reassure him that everything would be okay, but at the moment, she couldn't even tell herself that.  Gripping his hand tighter, as if it was the only thing holding her down into sanity, and lifted her eyes to his.

"Yeah Boz?"

"Do you want anything from the vending machine?"

"No, thanks though."

She went back to starring at the wall across the room, her eyes focusing on the pattern of crossing lines in multi colors.  It was almost as if she saw something in them, the way she was focused on them.

Bosco watched her for a moment before gently setting her hand on the arm of the chair.  Standing, he fished a dollar out of his jeans pocket and put it in the machine.  Pushing the buttons, he watched as a bag of peanut m&m's fell into the tray.  Bending down, he picked them up and opened them before heading back to where Faith sat.  Sitting down, he held the bag out to her, glad to see she fished one out, even if it was absent mindedly.

"Hey, you got a green one.  You know what they say about the green ones, don't you?"

Faith lifted her eyes and looked at him a moment, before the comment processed in her mind.  A small smile on her face, she reached over and slapped his arm.  "You're never gonna grow up, are you Boz?"

He lifted an eyebrow in an unmistakable gesture of him fooling around, his head shaking no.  "You love me, you know it.  So when are you going to just admit it."

She was about to answer him when the door to the waiting room opened and Charlie's doctor walked in.  Standing Faith grabbed onto Bosco's arm and waited.

Charlie opened his eyes slowly to an eerie quiet around him, the only noise a voice.

"Charlie, open your eyes son, come on, open your eyes."

Doing what the voice said, he looked around.  "Dad?"

Fred slowly stepped closer to the bed, nodding as he sat down and gently picked up his son's hand.  "Hey kid-o, how ya feelin?"

"Dad?"  Charlie asked again, looking around.  He was in a hospital bed, tubes and wires running into him, the lights were dimmed, and the door was shut.  "Am I dead dad?"

Fred smiled softly, shaking his head no.  "Nope, you don't think I'd let that happen, do you?"

"But you're dead dad." Charlie, said, tears in his eyes.

Fred nodded, leaning up and kissing his son's forehead.  "I know, and I'm sorry for not saying good bye to you and Emily, but I had to go, it was my time.  And I know that your mom has been trying as hard as she can for you guys."

Charlie nodded, tears in his eyes.  "Did you hate mom?"

Fred looked at his son, a shocked look on his face.  "Charlie, no, where would you ever get an idea like that?"

"You guys were always fighting.  Was it something Emily and I did?"

"Charlie, your mother and I had problems, but it was never about you and Emily, and it never was because I hated her.  I love your mom and I love Emily and I love you, and don't you ever forget it."

"But you guys were always fighting."

"I know Char, I know.  Your mom and I, we had problems, but we loved each other and one thing we always agreed on was that we loved you and Em, and that we always wanted what was best for both of you."

Charlie nodded, closing his eyes again.  "Dad, do you have to go?  Can't you come back with me, I don't like not having a dad."

Fred shook his head, tears in the sides of his eyes.  "I'm sorry Char, but I can't.  I have to go back now, but I'm positive that one day, you're going to have a new dad who loves the two of you as much as I do."

"But I don't want you to leave me dad, Em and I need you."

Fred smiled, standing and leaning down so he could kiss his forehead again.  "Charlie, I'm always going to be watching over you and Em."

"And mom?  Are you going to be watching out for mom?"

Fred nodded, stepping back from the bed.  "I'm always looking out for your mom."  He took a breath, folding his arms across his chest.  "And I'm looking out Boscorelli too.  Charlie, tell your mom something for me.  Tell her, tell her that it's time for her to move on, stop worrying about what I'd think.  And tell your Uncle Bosco that if he ever hurts your mother, I'll haunt him for the rest of his natural life."

Charlie nodded, watching as his dad stepped away.  "I love you dad."

"I love you too Charlie."

"The surgery went extremely well, with minor complications."

"Complications?" Faith asked, gripping Bosco's arm tighter.

The doctor nodded, folding his arms over the chart in his arms.  "The complications were to be expected, and we took them into consideration before we operated.  Charlie lost a lot of blood in the amount of time between the shooting and the time he arrived here, but we were able to replenish that blood for the most part.  His blood count is still very low, but we don't see any other problems other than he's going to be weak and tired for awhile, but I don't see any problems."

Faith let out the breath she had been holding, and so did Bosco, his hand sliding over her's in a reassuring squeeze.

"Can I see him?"

"In a few minutes Officer Yokas.  The nurses are just finishing the tests they need to do.  Someone will be with you shortly to take you to see him."

Faith nodded, walking back to the chair, Bosco by her side.  Sitting down, she ran her hands over her face, feeling everything from that day building up inside of her.  Silently, she began to cry, relief rushing through her.  Bosco looked down at her, lifting a hand and gently running it through her hair.  Stooping down until he was eye level with her, he pulled her into his arms.  She went willingly, burying her face in the side of his neck as she cried.

"Told you he was going to be okay Faith."

"I know Boz, but I've never been so scared in my life." She said between sobs, her hands gripping the shirt over his shoulder in a near death grip.  "He's my baby; everything in my life is because of them.  I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to him or Emily."

"Nothing's going to happen to either of them Faith."

She lifted her face and looked at him, her fingers still curled on his shoulders.  "But don't you see Boz, I failed Charlie.  I let someone hurt him today and I could have lost him in one second."

Cupping her face in the palms of his hands, he let his forehead rest against her's.  "Faith, listen to me.  There is no way that you can be with Charlie and Emily every moment of every day.  You protect them so much, but you also have to let them live their own lives.  I know you, everything you do is to make the world a better place for them."

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and leaning into him again.  "Thank you Boz."

"For what?" he asked, running his hand in small circles on her back.

"For being here, I don't know what I would do without you."

"I'm not going anywhere Faith.  You, Em and Charlie mean the world to me, I love you guys."

She nodded, holding onto him.  "Boz, the night Fred died, I didn't mean what I said to you."

He closed his eyes, resting his cheek against hers, his hands still rubbing small circles over her back.  "I know Faith."

"No Boz, you didn't deserve that, you were trying to help and I told you you were useless, and you're not."

"Faith, I know.  I was mad at first, and hurt, but I also realized that I would probably be reacting the same way if anything like that ever happened to Ma, or to you."

"Excuse me, Officer Yokas.  You can see your son now."

Faith opened her eyes and looked up at the nurse standing in the doorway.  Nodding, she stood, taking Bosco's hand in her's as she made her way across the room.  Walking down the hall together, they stopped outside the door to the room, looking in at all the tubes and wires attached to Charlie.  Faith took a deep breath and stepped into the room, Bosco following her in.  Sitting down in a chair Bosco pulled over for her, Faith picked up Charlie's hand and held it in her's.  It was slightly colder than it usually was, but not as cold as it had been earlier in the day.  Lying it against her cheek, she cuddled against it.

"Her Charlie baby, open your eyes for mommy, please?"

Bosco stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder.  Looking down at the small boy in the bed, he felt the anger from earlier building up inside of him.

"Mommy?" a small voice asked, Charlie's eyes fluttering open as he blinked and looked around.

Faith nodded, standing up and brushing the hair off his forehead.  "I'm right here Charlie, I'm right here."

Charlie smiled, looking at his mom and than to Bosco who was still standing behind him.  "Hi Uncle Bosco."

"Hey buddy, how ya feelin?"

"Tired.  Mom?" he asked, looking back up at her.

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Dad came and saw me when I first woke up.  He told me to tell you he loves you, and he loves Em, and he's always watching out for us and Uncle Bosco.  He also told me to tell you to move on, he wants you to be happy."

She nodded, tears in her eyes as she looked up at the ceiling and silently thanked her late husband.

"Uncle Bosco, he also told me to tell you that if you ever hurt mom or make her sad, he's gonna haunt you."

Bosco laughed a bit, leaning forward and squeezing Charlie's hand.  "You know I'd never do that little man."

Charlie nodded, looking back at him mom.  "Mom, why did Mr. Anders do this?"

"Do what sweetie?" Faith asked, confused as to what he son was talking about.

"Why did he start shooting people?"

Faith looked down at her son, shock on her face.  "Your principal did this Charlie?"

Charlie shook his head yes as his eyes fluttered close.  "I'm so tired mom."

Faith nodded, anger stretching across the features on her face.  "Go to sleep sweetie, I'll be here when you wake up?"

"Promise that you and Em and Uncle Bosco will be here?"

"Yes." She said softly, gently tucking his hand under the blanket and kissing his forehead before turning back to look at Bosco.  She saw the angered look on his face, saw the storm in his eyes as her's met his.  They stayed like that for a moment before the anger won and he turned around, walking out the door.  She followed behind him and watched as he slammed his hands against the wall.

"Son of a bitch.  The fucking principal of the school did this?"

Faith nodded, leaning against it next to him.  "I saw him Boz, when we first got to the school.  He looked me in the eye and he told me that Charlie's classroom was the one who took the brunt force."  She stopped, the anger mirrored on her face that was mirrored on Bosco's.  "I'm gonna kill him with my bare hands."

"After I get through with him, you can kick his lifeless body around."

_And that, my friend's is chapter two.__  It took a bit longer for the details to come together in my mind, but I knew where I wanted it to go.  Charlie's going to be okay, but I really do feel sorry for the man when Bosco's through with him.  My plan for this chapter was going to be a bit different, I was going to have the police think the shooter was Fred, but than, it just kinda came out like this.  I do hope you like this chapter._


	3. It's not always what we think happened

_Author's Note: This will probably be the last addition to this chapter until the New Year.  It's also about to get a bit more interesting, and I do believe I may pick up the idea that I had for the last chapter.  I'm not going to pretend I have much knowledge in the medical field – I'm just going what I've picked up from my father, mother and grandmother over the years, and from the few medical text books I looked at.  I'm also not going to pretend I have an extreme knowledge of how the police work, I'm just going by my mom's best friend and one of my friend's dads, and from what I learned around the firehouse when I was younger.  Also, I don't know about you, but when I'm sick or in a lot of pain, I call my mother mommy.  I do the same to my father, and so does my little brother, who I'm guessing is around Charlie's age, though he'll never free willingly admit that, and if he finds out I did – well, I hope he likes what he gets from my will._

_Disclaimer: Please don't sue me, I only have Mickey money in my name and that was a gift.  I don't own these characters, as much as I wish I did._

Charlie opened his eyes, squinting against the soft light that filtered into the room from an open door.  His chest burned and so did his left leg, and he wished that it would just stop, go away and leave him alone.  Slowly turning his head to the left, he saw his mother sleeping in a chair, a thin blanket draped across her, her blond hair falling out of the knot she always had it in.  In a chair next to her, his sister slept, another blanket tucked around her, her hair falling around her face.  Charlie smiled, looking between them.  Uncle Bosco was sound asleep too, his chair close to the back of his mothers, a blanket draped around his shoulders, both his hands on the shoulder of his mother and sister.  He smiled, or at least he did, at the sight before him.  He asked them to be there when he woke up, and they were, even Uncle Bosco, who hadn't been around that much since his father's death.  Closing his eyes, he tried to go back to sleep, hoping that the pain would go away.

Cruz stood in the hall, starring into the room, a frown on her face.  They looked like a family in there, sound asleep in a small cluster on the chairs; and that thought pissed her off.  Bosco was her tough ass partner now, not that weak beat cop he had been partnered with before, and his time should be spent helping her in anti-crime, not playing "daddy" to the beat cops kids.  Clearing her throat, she moved into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed and starring.  It didn't matter to her that there was a boy in the bed; it could be her own mother for all she cared, she had a job to do and who was involved in that didn't matter.  She'd proved it before, using kids as targets, using parents grief to get the job done.  It didn't matter, as long as she came out standing and looking good.

"Boscorelli, get your ass out of that chair and let's go."

She had some pleasure in watching as the entire group woke up, including the one in the bed.

"Mommy?" Charlie asked, looking around the room and blinking.  It took him a minute to realize he was still in the hospital.

Faith sat up, running a hand over her face, trying to wake up as she leaned forward.  Rolling her neck, she glared at the woman standing at the foot of the bed.  She was stiff, and tired, and now she could add pissed on her list; pissed at the woman who had just woken everyone up, including her son.  Looking back at her son, she gave in and ran a hand over the skin on the back of her neck, trying to work the muscle free from the cramp that was setting in from sitting in the chair.  "I'm right here Charlie, what's wrong baby?  Are you in any pain, thirsty, tired?"

"It hurts, but I don't want you to leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere baby, I promise."

Emily looked around the room, trying to wake up from the nap she had taken.  It had been hard falling asleep, worry about her brother causing her to have a few bad dreams before drifting into a dreamless state.  Someone had taken the time to tuck a blanket around her, and to remove her shoes.  Turning around, she looked at her Uncle Bosco and smiled.  He was still there with them, like he had promised Charlie, like he had promised her, and like he had promised her mom.  He looked funny, a huge red mark on the side of his face from resting on his shoulder, his hair sticking up on that side, and his eyes all red.  Looking back at her brother, she smiled, swatting his leg.

Bosco opened his eyes and saw Cruz standing at the foot of the bed, a huge frown on her face as she looked about.  Running his hand over the stubble that was quickly turning into an ugly mess on the front of his face, he looked back at Emily.  She was smiling at him, and he felt this little warmth inside of him, making him feel wanted, as he smiled back at her.  Looking over at Faith and Charlie, he felt that warmth grow, knowing what it meant, yet not voicing it.  Standing, he let the blanket fall onto the chair as he rolled his neck and shoulders, stretching out the kinks that had set in from the few hours of sleep he had gotten in the chair.  Looking back at Cruz, he shot her a look that could kill.

"Get out of here.  I'll be out in a few minutes and we'll discuss me leavin."

Cruz glared at him, about to make a comment, when she thought better of it and stalked out.  Leaning against the wall across from the door, she watched them inside the room.

Bosco watched her leave before stepping up behind Faith.  Placing his hand on the back of her neck, he gently tried to work the kinks out for her, looking over her shoulder and down at Charlie.

"Hey big guy, you feelin any better?"

"It burns."

"What burns Char?" Faith asked, almost purring at the way the muscles were relaxing in her neck.  Right now was not the time to worry about the feeling that Boz's hand on her skin was causing.

"My chest and leg."

"What do you mean burning?  Like something that's unbearable, or a tingling feeling?"

"It hurts; a lot."

Faith nodded, standing up from the chair.  "I'll go find your doctor and we'll find out what it means, okay?"

"No!"  Charlie said, shaking his head.  "Don't leave me mommy, please?  I don't want it to stop if you have to leave me."

Faith sighed, nodding as she leaned down to adjust the blanket around him.  "I'm not going to leave you, okay?  I need to go talk to your Uncle Bosco for a minute, than I'll find the doctor and I'll be right back.  Em is going to stay with you."

Charlie nodded, fighting back the tears he was holding inside.

Stepping to the corner of the room, she watched her son for a moment before looking at Bosco for a moment, than turning away again.

"Thanks for being here Boz, but you don't have to stay.  I know you got other things to do, and I can handle things from here."

Bosco stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, watching her look anywhere but at him.  "So, you don't want me here no more?"

Faith shook her head no, finally looking him in the eyes.  "No, I'm not saying that.  Charlie wants you here – I want you here, but you don't have to put your life on hold for us."

"I wanna be here Faith, you guys mean a lot to me.  Cruz can deal with whatever her little problem is by herself.  I'm gonna go into the station and put in for some time off, and I'll make sure Lieu knows you aren't gonna be in.  Em can come with me and we'll stop back at your place, pick up some things for you guys.  You gotta get changed out of your uniform, and you need food."

Faith nodded, knowing there was no fighting with him when he set his mind to something.  "Alright.  Thanks Boz."

He nodded, giving into the urge as he leaned forward and kissed her cheek again.  It was probably one of the least intimate contact he had ever had with a woman, and yet, he still got a rush out of it.  "I'm gonna go deal with Cruz.  Send Em out in a few minutes, okay?"

She nodded, watching as he stepped away.  Walking back to the chairs, she sat down, smiling at her daughter.

"Bosco's going to take you with him while he runs to the precinct, than back to the house to get some things.  Can you make sure he gets some things for Charlie too?"

"I'll make sure mom." Em said, sitting on the end of her chair.  "You want me to watch Charlie while you go find his doctor?"

Faith nodded, standing as she looked at her daughter.  "It scares me sometimes, how grown up you are."

Bosco walked out of the room, his hands still in the pockets of his jeans.  He had thought in the beginning that working with this woman was gonna be something exciting, but he was beginning to rethink that.  At least when he had been a beat cop, he didn't have to worry constantly that his partner was gonna get him brought up against internal affairs.  "What you want Cruz?"

"We have something to do that doesn't involve sittin round the hospital all night baby sitting your ex-partners kids."

"I'm not leavin Faith and her kids, so you can go do what you gotta do."

"You don't come now Boscorelli, and your stint with anti-crime is over.  You'll be workin back at the 55 in a squad car faster than you can take a piss."

Bosco shrugged, realizing that there were things more important in life than getting further in work.  Not much was, but there was something.  "Than I'll be back on patrol."

Cruz stepped forward, frowning as she looked over his shoulder.  "You realize what your giving up for her?  I could take you further than you dreamed."

"There's some things you can't give me, and I'm realizing they're more important than any job."

"Big mistake Boscorelli."

With that, she turned and walked down the hall, her heeled boots clicking on the floor as she almost stormed away.  Bosco watched her for a moment before looking down at the floor, his eyes following the pattern as what he had just given up set in.  Spinning around at the soft voice behind him, he smiled, happy to see that Faith really cared about him.

"You didn't have to do that Boz.  It's not to late to go and catch up to her, stay in anti-crime.  It's what you've been working for, that or ESU.  I don't want you giving up your dream for my kids and me."

"That's not important right now Faith.  I'll get another chance at it, right now, there are more important things that need my attention."

"Like what?  Me and my kids?  I know you care Boz, but don't go giving up everything you've worked for for us.  We can manage fine, we've been doing it for months."

"I'm not gonna fight you right now Faith.  You still have a problem with it when Charlie's out of the hospital, we'll fight than."

"Why are you doing this Boz?  It's not like you."

"We'll talk later Faith, when Charlie's home."  Looking past her into the room, he smiled at Em.  "Come on Em, let's get movin."

Faith started to take off his coat that she still wore.

"No Faith, keep it on.  I'll be fine."

"Bosco, look it's really…"

Putting a finger over her lips, he shook his head.  "Faith, stop right now."

"But.."

Leaning forward, he placed his lips softly over hers.  He felt the softness of her lips under his, could feel the warmth of her breath against his face.  Pulling back, he looked into her eyes for a moment before stepping away, not saying a word as Emily and him walked down the hallway.  Stopping a few feet away, he turned around and smiled at her.  "We'll talk when we get back."

Faith nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she made her way back into Charlie's room.  Sitting down in the chair again, she picked up the button to page the nurses station.

Bosco stepped into the elevator, looking back down the hallway as he pushed the button.  He shouldn't have done that, shouldn't have kissed Faith, but at that time, it seemed like the only thing he could do.  He'd wanted to do it for so long, wanted to feel her mouth pressed against his, and finally, he had given in.

"You're in love with my mom, aren't you Uncle Bosco?"

Looking over at Emily, he didn't know what to say.

"It's not a bad thing, Charlie and I both like you, and we know you won't hurt mom."

Bosco nodded, putting an arm around Emily's shoulders.

"Yeah Em, I am.  But it's not just your mom, I love you and Charlie too.  But, right now, I think it's best if we kept this between you and me.  Your mom has enough on her mind."

Emily nodded, watching as the doors opened on the ground floor.  "She loves you too."

"I thought you told me he wouldn't be hurt!  No one was suppose to get hurt.  It was suppose to be some warning shots into the room, scare the kids and teachers up a bit."

Anders nodded, looking at the man before him, fear sinking into the bone.  "I know, but I couldn't stop.  You know how angry they've made me, that's why you came to me."

"That's not the point.  You didn't do as I told you.  The plans had all been so carefully laid out, and you fucked them up.  You know what that means, don't you?"

Anders took a step back, shaking his head yes as he begged.  "Please, I didn't mean to, I'll make it better, I promise."

"My son dies, and you'd better disappear.  Because if my wife and her partner don't kill you, I will."  Fred said, glaring at the man.  "Now, you know what you gotta do next?"

"Kill your wife's partner.  Make it look like someone he put away did it."

"No, you make it look like my wife did it.  You have that gun I gave you, her's that was 'stolen' when our apartment was robbed last year.  I want that lying son of a bitch partner of her's killed.  Teach them a lesson for thinking they could get away with screwing each other behind my back."

"I got it."

"Good.  We'll take care of that tomorrow."  Fred stopped and looked at the man before him.  He looked scared enough to piss his pants, and who could really blame him.  No one would believe the man if he said that a dead guy was behind all this.  But Fred had it all planned, get back at Faith for all she had done over the years, for all the times she had cheated on him with that bastard partner of hers, and to get his kids, move out of the country and take care of them.  "Oh and Max, you screw up and hurt either one of my kids again, you're a dead man."

_Okay, so I hope you guys liked that chapter.  I believe it works okay without putting in the lyrics…and well, I decided to work my little plot twist into it.  I hope you like it.  __J__  I may get out another chapter before Tuesday night, otherwise, it'll be in the new year when I update._


	4. And Than We Talked

_Author's Note: Alright, so I threw everyone for a little loop with my last chapter.  I really don't like Fred all that much.  I see him as compassionate man sometimes, and I do believe that at a time, he loved Faith, but now, they're at a comfortable and boring stage in their relationship.  I also see him as a man who has put up with enough crap that goes against the way he was brought up, and he's getting angrier and angrier at Faith.  I also believe that he is jealous of what Faith and Bosco have – because they have something that he and Faith never had, and probably never will.  It's time that Fred snaps, and I don't believe it's going to be that nice of a picture by the time its done.  I can say that there will be no rape in this story, though it is something that I have written before, and I will try not to harm Emily and Charlie, nor hurt Faith and Bosco that much.  But, everyone assumes that Fred died the night he had his heart attack, at least in my world.  But infact, he's still alive and kicking – and a very evil man._

_The following chapter is just really Bosco and Faith, no real action yet.  I'm saving that for a few plane rides.  You will be getting a new one no later than the first week of January – I'm hoping the hotel has Internet access though._

_Thanks to everyone over at the 55-David boards who are reading this, and for the people on Fanfiction.net who have also been following it._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch which means I don't have the salaries that those people make.  Please don't sue me, all you'll get is my clothes._

And Than We've Talked

Faith watched as Charlie's chest rose and fell with each breath he took.  He still had the oxygen to help him breath, though it was barely noticeable.  The doctor had come in after Bosco and Emily had left, and after looking over Charlie and asking him some questions, given him some medicine to help him sleep and to take away the pain.  After he had fallen asleep, Faith had sat there watching him, thanking God for the fact that her son was still with her.  It had scared her, and almost killed her; when she had found Charlie on the floor of that classroom, surrounded in a pool of his own blood.  But he was okay; still entirely to pale for her liking, but he was okay.  Bosco had told her that over and over again while she had been sobbing in his arms; that Charlie was a fighter and would never leave her.  That brought her to the other thing that had been sitting on her mind – the kiss that she and Bosco had shared in the hallway.  To say that it had been a complete shock would be a lie, she had been expecting something to happen that night after what had happened out front of the precinct.  She just wasn't expecting him to kiss her in the middle of the hospital.  Wrapping his coat tighter around her, she leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes, trying to will herself into a light sleep.

Bosco stopped in the door, watching as they both slept.  A small smile graced his face as he stepped into the room, two black duffel bags slung over his left shoulder, a bag of burgers in his right hand.  Behind him, Emily carried two more duffel bags and a tray of sodas.  Stepping into the room, he moved to the side to leave Emily in before kicking the door shut.  Turning around, he saw Faith sitting up and looking at him, a small smile on her face.

"Sorry for waking you."

"It's okay, I wasn't really asleep, just resting my eyes."

Nodding, he crossed the distance into the room, setting the bag of food on a chair before dropping the duffel bags on another chair.  Emily set the drinks on one of the end tables and set her bags on the floor.  Taking off her coat, she walked it over to the closet before looking back at her mom.

"I'm going to go take a walk mom, go down to the cafeteria and get some gum.  I'll be back in a little bit."

Faith nodded, watching as Emily left the room.  Standing, she looked at Bosco.  "Thank you." She said softly, watching him as he fiddled about.

"No problem."  Reaching down, he opened one of the bags and looked inside.  Picking it up, he handed it to her.  "I packed you a few things so you can get changed.  I'll sit here with Charlie till you come out."

"What's in the other bags?"

"Emily brought some of her things and Charlie's, and I picked up a few things of my own.  Didn't know how long we were going to be here so I packed a few days worth of clothes for you and me.  Ma said she'd come by and pick up Em later, take her back to her place and make sure she gets to school and all."

"Your mom is going to take care of Em?"

"Yeah, is that okay with you?"

"Yup, thank you."

"Stop thanking me Faith, you'd do the same for me if it was Ma."

Faith nodded, looking around the room.  "I'm just gonna go and get changed.  I'll be right back."

Bosco nodded, watching as she made her way across the room.  Opening his bag, he pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt.  Undoing his jeans, he quickly pulled them off and pulled on the pants before removing the shirt he wore and pulling on the gray NYPD shirt he had brought.  Stuffing his worn clothes into the bag, he picked it up and he carried it to the small closet on the one wall and placed it inside.  Looking back at the bathroom, he watched as Faith came out, looking more relaxed than she had.  Wearing black running pants and a long sleeve red shirt, her dirty blond hair piled on top of her head, he realized he had never seen anyone looking more beautiful.  Taking her bag and his coat from her, he placed them in the closet before leading her back to the chairs.

"I got you some burgers and fries – still warm kinda, and not on the bottom."

Faith laughed as she took the bag from him and pulled out a burger.  "You're gonna get tired of my company real fast Boz.  Sure you don't just wanna go back to your place and crash for the night?"

"No, and I told Lieu that if he finds anything else out, to call us here."

"What do they know so far?"

"They have it from six eye witnesses, seven if you count Charlie, that is was the principal, Maxwell Anders, age 35, lives in Manhattan somewhere in your neighbor hood.  Not much else is known about him."

"How many deaths were there Boz?"

"Ten kids from Charlie's class, five in the one next door and six out front of the school are dead.  There are also over forty injuries from gun shot wounds, over half of those critical, and numerous ones from people trying to get away."

Faith sat there, starring at him as the numbers sunk in.  "God Boz, how did he get so many?"

"They said he was using semi-automatic assault riffles and machine guns as he moved through the halls.  Besides that, there's not much I can tell you."

"Do they have him yet?"

"No, but there is a full fledge man hunt for him as we speak."

"I want him Boz, and not just in a jail cell.  I almost lost my son today, and twenty-one parents and families did lose their loved ones.  This guy is crazy, and he needs to pay."  She stopped, getting chocked up as the tears she had cried earlier came back.

Bosco finished the last of the burger in his hand before reaching out and wrapping an arm around Faith, quickly pulling her into a hug.  "And he's gonna get it Faith.  None of those cops out there are gonna go easy on this guy when they find him.  What he did is terrible and no one wants to see him get away with it."

She nodded, burying her face in the side of his neck.  Breathing in softly, she closed her eyes and let the tears fall for a few minutes, feeling completely safe there in Bosco's arms.

Bosco let his head rest on top of Faith's as he continued to hold her, his hand rubbing small circles on her back.  He felt her shift and looked down into her eyes, seeing the tears that ran down her face.  Lifting a hand, she gently wiped them away, letting his hand rest against her cheek.

"I wanna kill him, I want to take my gun and just shoot him Boz.  Does that make me a terrible person?"

"No, it makes you a mother who loves her son so much, you want to make the man who hurt him suffer."

She nodded, closing her eyes and rubbing her cheek against his palm.

Bosco watched her for a minute before leaning forward and pressing his mouth against hers.  Like earlier, he felt the softness and warmth of her lips, could feel the warmth and knots it stirred up in his stomach, and now he could taste the saltiness of her tears.  Gently sliding his other hand up her back, he tangled it in the soft hair that was hanging down against her neck, holding her to him as softly as he could.  Feeling her kiss him back, he let out a soft sigh before breaking it off, his breathing a bit labored as he leaned his forehead against hers and opened his eyes.  He watched as her eyes stayed closed, but a small smile formed on her slightly swollen lips.

"Wow." She said softly, finally opening her eyes and looking into his.  In those first few seconds, she felt as if she had suddenly found everything that had been missing in her marriage to Fred – the love in his eyes, the closeness they should have had, the trust, the understanding and the openness, plus many other things she couldn't describe.  "Boz?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

"I think its obvious Faith, we were just kissing."

Her smiled widened a bit as she closed her eyes and playfully smacked him on the arm.  "I know that, I mean why is that happening?"

"Don't you want it to?"

She didn't answer him right away, and he feared maybe he had over stepped his bounds.  About to pull back, he stopped when she opened her eyes and spoke.

"Yes, I want it to happen, but do you?  I mean, you realize what you're getting into Boz?  I have two kids who are so attached to you, it would kill them if you left, not to mention I'm not looking for just a few weeks of a relationship."

"Faith, I was going to wait until Charlie was out of the hospital, I know you have enough to worry about right now.  But I'm also going to be honest with you.  I'm in love with you Faith, I have been for some time, but I would never say anything while you were still with Fred.  But more importantly, I don't love just you, I love Emily and Charlie.  They're amazing kids Faith, and they know more and see more than you think."

She nodded, listening as he went on.

"I want something more than what I've had these past years in relationships.  They didn't mean anything to be, well Nicole did, but things didn't work out with her and me.  I want things to work between us Faith, because there's more at stake than just my feelings.  There's your and Em's and Charlie's too, and I don't want to hurt any of you.  I understand completely if its to early still after Fred's death, I'm willing to wait for you."

"I think I love you to Boz, I have for awhile.  I think Fred saw it while he was still alive, and that's why he was so jealous of you.  And as much as I don't want to hurt Fred's memory, he did tell Charlie I need to move on with my life."

He nodded, hoping she was saying what he thought she was saying.

"So – if you're willing to give it all you've got, so am I."

He didn't give her a vocal answer, instead, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as he placed a kiss against her temple.

"We're going to take this slow Faith, I don't want to do anything to screw this up."

She nodded, shifting in the chair a bit so she could lean into him more.  "Just not to slow Boz, don't want you getting an itch."

He laughed a bit, closing his eyes as he pulled her into his lap.  "There's only one person who can scratch that itch for me and she's sitting right here in my arms."

She smiled, curling up a bit, opening her eyes and looking over at her son.  Right now, curled here in Bosco's arms, her son sleeping as soundly as he could from all the pain he had to be in, and her daughter on her way back up to the room, Faith felt the most content she had in the longest time.


	5. If the Jealous Could Only Feel Guilt

_Author's Note: Hi everyone; boy has it been a long few weeks.  But, here is chapter five.  I've gone off a bit from the story, because I think people need to know a bit about Fred and why he's doing this.  It's in first person, just because I find it easier to write thoughts and emotions this way.  There are four different versions of Chapter five started – all involving something different, but this is the one that finally won out.  A bit of a warning, this is going to span the time from when Fred "died" to where we are now with the school shooting._

_Disclaimer: I haven't won the lottery yet, nor have all those wishes on stars come true and I was granted writes.  So, sadly, I own none of these people – save for Max Anders.  Please don't sue me, I have student loans to pay and need the money._

_Pairing: Faith/Bosco_

_Author: MabMerling/TheChicaChic/Jenn_

_Email: Webmaster@snapebits.net_

_Rating: R_

_Title: If the Jealous Could Only Feel Guilt_

_If I had just one tear running down your cheek Maybe I could cope maybe I'd get some sleep If I had just one moment at your expense Maybe all my misery would be well spent Yeah.... Could you cry a little Lie just a little Pretend that you're feeling a little more pain I gave now I'm wanting Something in return So cry just a little for me_

I watched her from the shadows again, like I had for the past week; the anger inside of me building up.  It's not like someone's husband dies every day, and yet, she has yet to shed a tear.  I really don't think it's fair, that she gets to live and spend time with our children, and I'm forced to live like a dead man, though I'm far from it.  I've known for some time that she's just with me for the sake of Emily and Charlie, and as much as I wish I could say it didn't matter to me, it did.  She was _my wife, and yet, everything she does in life is for that smart assed partner of her's Boscorelli.  Of course, she doesn't think I know it, but she steals little glances at him, her eyes light up whenever he enters a room, and once, while we were in bed, she muttered his name.  To say I had been shocked would have been a lie – I was expecting it at some time, but it still hurt._

I watched as she walked into the precinct where she spent most of her times, and again, the thoughts of her and Boscorelli filled my mind.  Who knew how long they had been doing each other behind those doors.  Briefly, I wondered if everyone else in there knew, but I chased those thoughts away because I knew they all knew.  Infact, they were all probably in on it, helping them hide it from me, and who knew, she could have been giving them some on the side.  Almost a year ago, I had given up hope on our marriage, had given up faith in Faith.  She'd thrown it all away when she had gone to him, helped him, and put herself at risk when they all suspected him of murder.  She never even told him she had cancer, at least not that I knew, yet he was the one she chose.  _I was the one who went to the surgeries' with her, __I was the one who held her hair when she was sick from the Chemo, __I was the one who took care of her, and yet, __he's the one she wants.  __I was the one there when she gave birth all those times and __I was the one who took care of our children.  He has no right to anything; I was the one who went through everything with that lying bitch.  At the same time that I gave up the hope, I had also started to form a plan.  It was time that I taught her a lesson, made her own up to everything that she had caused to go wrong.  She ruined our marriage, she destroyed out children's lives, and she was the one who was making it where we couldn't live better in life.  Had she used that college education she insisted on having, we could be living somewhere nicer than the neighborhood where we had grown up.  But no, after Emily had started pre-school and Charlie had been born, she had to go to the police academy; make a difference in the lives of everyone else but ours.  If I was truthful with myself that was when our marriage started to fall apart; when she ruined everything I had planned for us.  It had only taken me a few weeks to decide that I was going to make her suffer more than I ever had; I was going to stage my own death.  Sure, in the short term, it might hurt Charlie and Emily, but in the long run, it would be better for them; because once I was "dead" I could make their mother go away.  Than, it would be so easy to take them and leave the country.  At the same time all this was working it's self out in my head, I had met a wonderful lady – Maritza Cruz, who has luck would have it, was a police officer herself.  But unlike Faith, she was different – she hated smart mouthed assholes who acted all macho, and she did agree that women who fell in love with their partners were weak.  And unlike Faith, she never said Boscorelli's name in bed._

So now here I was, "dead" and following my wife around, trying to catch her in the act.  Maritza was watching them at work, though she said it seemed like they were having a few problems, so maybe Faith did care a little and that upset Boscorelli.  Shifting a bit, I saw Faith come out of the precinct again, though with that rookie she sometimes worked with.  Well, maybe things really weren't so happy in their little world, maybe Faith was moving onto fresh meat.

"Whore" I muttered to myself as I watched her climb into the car and start it.  Slowly, I slipped back into the shadows, heading towards my old apartment with hopes of seeing my children.  At least they were upset that I was gone, someone missed me.

_If your love could be caged, honey I would hold the key And conceal it underneath the pile of lies you handed me And you'd hunt those lies They'd be all you'd ever find And that'd be all you'd  have to know For me to be fine Yeah.... And you'd cry a little Die just a little and baby I would feel just a little less pain I gave now I'm wanting Something in return So cry just a little for me_

You're there in his arms, right in front of me.  I've caught you now you lying cheating bitch.  Our son was just shot and you're in his arms, holding onto him and pretending to sob.  Just admit it, you don't give a damn about our son who is lying on a table down the hall being cut open, all you care about is the fact that you can finally be in your lovers arms in public.  It's all your fault that Charlie was shot, because you had to cheat on me.  I just wanted to put a little fear in you, that's all that idiot Anders was suppose to do, fire a few warning shots.  But no, to get back at you, I had to find someone who is completely insane who wound up shooting and killing God knows how many and in the process, harming our own son.  It's all your God damn lies you've fed me over the past few years that I've naively believed, but now, its your turn to pay.  I saw Maritza outside the hospital after Boscorelli came rushing to your side, she saw you outside the precinct.  You were in his arms, he kissed you in front of everyone and you just let him.  I should have known that now you would be more open about your relationship with him.  Now it's your turn to pay, your turn to suffer.  Let's see how much you cry when Boscorelli's dead because of you.  Let's just hope that our son makes it through, because if he doesn't, I will kill you for what you did to him.

I see the doctor, that means that the surgery's done.  Hiding in my little shadow, I listen, just to hear if my son lived or not.  The doctor said he should, you're lucky Faith, because if he wasn't, you wouldn't be walking out of this hospital.  Luck is on my side when the doctor tells you that the nurses need to tend to Charlie, this will give me a chance to see him.  Leaving you in the arms of your "one true love", I make my way down to our son's room.  Sitting on the edge of the bed, I look down at him and feel my heart breaking.  My children are my weak point, my pride and joy, and to see my son lying there with IVs and oxygen attached.  It wasn't fair, him lying there, and Faith down the hall.  She was going to pay, and that, I promise you.

_Give it up baby I hear your goodbye Nothins goin save me I can see it in your eyes Some kind of heartache Darlin give it a try I don't want pity I just want what is mine_

You kissed him, in front of our daughter, you kissed him.  I couldn't believe it than when I saw it and I can't believe it now.  Anders is going to kill Boscorelli, I've made sure of that, and Faith, you're going to go down for it.  I'm tired of playing this little game.  Maritza and I will take the kids and we'll leave the country, go someplace where no one will find us, and we'll take care of them.  You fucked up Faith, you showed our daughter something she should never have seen.  I took a risk seeing Charlie, but I had to.  But you, you kissed Boscorelli in front of me, and you kissed him in front of our daughter.  Maritza was pissed off when Boscorelli chose you over her, as much as I hate to admit it, she was setting him up good, had it all worked out in that brilliant mind of hers.  But guess what babe, it's my turn now, and you're going to pay.

_The song used in this fanfic is "Cry" by Faith Hill.  I also had to work Cruz in somehow, and it's all forming so nicely in my head.  Sorry bout the shortness, I do hope you enjoyed it._


	6. Author's Note

Note: I've been receiving a lot of comments on the spelling in the story, so I would like to clear this up. I do know there are spelling errors in the story. A lot of them are going to be my way of trying to write like they would talk. If you see something that is a major bother to you, please let me know exactly what it is.  
  
I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to review the story, and I am glad so many people are enjoying it. Thank you everyone for your reviews, comments and thoughts on the story. (  
  
Another chapter should be along within the next few days.  
  
TheChicaChic / MabMerlin / Jenn 


End file.
